So I came across the above article this morning: “A fluke discovery of children’s bones protruding from a badger hole in southwestern Idaho has investigators trying to determine if they have discovered a double homicide or the disturbed grave of young 19th century pioneers who died going west on the nearby Oregon Trail, authorities said Tuesday…a forensic anthropologist determined that the remains are of a child between ages 4 and 6 and a teenager or young adult between the ages of 16 and 20….Carbon dating results expected in several weeks should help determine when they died, said Greg Berry, the undersheriff of Elmore County.”

My first thought was this:

It was probably dysentery.

And then I thought the forensic anthropologist must not be Brennan because they can’t instantly identify the body. No Angelatron to whip up a facial reconstruction in seconds? No Hodgins to identify the ONE particulate that reveals everything? No Oregon wagon display from the Jeffersonian used to see if the bones were crushed by a wagon wheel?

So, I read this random news article this morning and thought of Hodgins of course! Not that he HAS to walk again, but new therapies and treatments happen all the time, so why not try it?

“He posted a video on Facebook from his hospital bed, pleading for people to connect him to resources that could help him walk. That’s when a relative discovered the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab on Grand Avenue in Chicago… The therapists focused on a high intensity, task specific training program, which they designed and believe it leads to better outcomes….Only seven months after doctors told him he couldn’t walk, Thomas is walking and returning home.”

Do you guys also read articles/see news stories and think of the Bones cast? lol

Well she is there to pick up the fiercest anthropologist ever from a mass grave, aka Brennan’s favorite vacation spot.

After being detained in the airport, our 2nd hero bursts onto the scene to “save” the good doctor…only she figures out he’s full of it and she isn’t having it!

The back-and-forth between them is pretty instantaneous (we don’t know about their prior history yet):

Brennan: I find you very condescending.

Booth: Me! I’m condescending. I’m not the one who’s got to mention that she’s got a Doctorate every five minutes.

Booth agrees to give her participation in cases and we get some of our first Bones phrases:

Booth: What? Do you want me to spit in my hand? We’re Scully and Mulder.

Brennan: I don’t know what that means.

I didn’t realize this until the rewatch, but apparently Brennan’s fierce look is a recent thing according to Zach…

Brennan: Hi Zach.

Zach: This eco-warrior look works for you.

Brennan: Thanks.

Zach: Very action oriented.

Booth then introduces us to the idea of “Squints” in his own, Boothy way.

Brennan: What exactly am I supposed to be squinting at?

Booth: Oh you know, it’s like pornography, you’ll know it when you see it.

We start getting into case details, and then Brennan and our old pal Dr. Goodman are arguing over “lending her out” to the FBI, in which Brennan puts up her first fight about being considered property. Goodman thinks she’s trying to play him, but realizes that she can’t….yet. Though she has a “disturbingly steep learning curve”!!

The squints, meanwhile, are trying to figure out who they are in Brennan’s book.

Brennan: No, No, No. You’re not in the book.

Zach: Sure he is! We all are…

Brennan: No, none of you are in the book. Those are fictitious characters based…

Zach: Point of clarification, I’m not a virgin. Nowhere near in fact.

Angela: Who you captured perfectly, is Booth. Buttoned down but buckets of sexual confidence which, uh, I for one would love to tap.

Zack: It’s not right to discuss tapping asses in front of a soaker.

Meanwhile, Booth is talking to Cullen about how awesome Brennan is:

Cullen: She’s good.

Booth: Oh, she’s amazing. If the only way I can get her back to my side is to bring her out in the field, I’m willing.

We get a glimpse into the interesting background of Temperance Brennan and her parents, though that will be slightly in flux for awhile (she has a grandpa, then doesn’t have a grandpa and all that) but the glimpse is enough for Cullen to agree to her presence in the field.

Then Brennan intercepts a “booty call” from her ex, proving she does know what some things are in society. The ex throws in a dash of orphan-blaming, and we get Brenan’s dislike for psychology which is mentioned quite often in the episode.

We dig more into the case, where we find out Hodgins’ conspiracy leanings.

Hodgins: Is it paranoia that Monica Lewinsky was a KGB trained sex agent mole?

Quickly, we find out Booth has his own work demons to sort through and rethinks letting her work with him in the field.

Booth: I know we talked about you coming out in the field and all…A case this big and the Director is going to create a special investigation and if I line all my ducks up in a row I could maybe, maybe I can head it up.

Brennan: I don’t know what that means but I think I could be a duck.

But our smart cookie Brennan isn’t having him go back on it!

Brennan: Well in that case, the Jeffersonian will be issuing a press release identifying the girl in the pond.

Booth: You do that, I’m a dead duck. What are you trying to do?

Brennan: Blackmail you.

Booth: Blackmail a Federal Agent?

Brennan: Yes.

Booth: I don’t like it.

Brennan: I’m fairly certain you’re not supposed to.

Booth: Fine. You’re in.

After a few mentions of diatomaceous earth, we get Early Booth teaching Brennan how to interact with live people vs dead people:

Booth: You know, getting information out of live people is a lot different than getting information out of a pile of bones, you have to offer up something of yourself first.

Concerned, Brennan taps Angela’s mind for clarification:

Brennan: What if Booth’s right? What if I’m only good with bones and lousy with people?

Angela: People like you.

Brennan: I don’t care if men like me.

Angela: Okay, interesting leap from people to men but I’m sure it means nothing.

And Angela makes a great observation, which apparently the last crop of Bones writers never understood about Brennan’s character:

Angela: Honey, you ever think you come off kind of distant because you connect too much?

Brennan: I hate psychology, it’s a soft science.

Angela: I know but, people are mostly soft. Offer up a little bit of yourself every once and awhile. Just… tell somebody something you’re not completely certain you want them to know.

Brennan: God! That’s the second time I’ve received that advice.

The case progresses and we find that Brennan assaulting the Senator gets Booth kicked of being lead for the new unit.

B&B are starting to feel each other up….I mean OUT!

Booth: Come on Bones…You okay?

Brennan: Don’t be nice to me after I got you in trouble.

Booth: Your heart was in the right place.

Brennan: No, I’m not a heart person, you’re a heart person, I‘m a brain person. You vouched for me.

Booth: Forget it…

Brennan: No, I won’t.

Between Booth and Angela’s conversation about Brennan’s parents, and B&B’s intense shooting range convo, we find B&B have been looking into each other’s background. I find it hard to concentrate on what they say in this scene but pictures are worth a thousand words, so….

Booth begins with the “we’re partners” stuff and they figure out the case. Brennan shoots the suspect and Goodman zings with a great quote:

Goodman: It was her first shooting, you can’t expect it to be perfect right out of the gate.

Then we see the beginning of Booth/Zach tension:

Booth: She didn’t give him a warning. She just shot him, with alcohol on her breath.

Zach: How much warning did you give people before you sniped them?

Yikes.

Then we get some nice moments between B&B as he lets her know her book is a best seller and advises her financially:

Brennan: That’s good right!?! The New York Times with a bullet…

Booth: It means you’re rich, call your accountant.

Brennan: I don’t have an accountant.

Booth: Well, get one!

Brennan: Okay, how does that work?

So we already have some partner-y trust building here. Then, we get to the big deal…

Booth: You know, being a sniper I took, a lot of lives. What I’d like to do before I’m done is try and catch at least that many murderers.

Brennan: Please! You don’t think there’s some kind of cosmic balance sheet… I’d like to help you with that.

And with that, they walk away. A show is born. Somehow they squeezed in so much characterization and backgrounds in one episode! But now we want to know more!! Who’da thunk we’d get TWELVE seasons with these adorable crime fighters!

What do you think about this Pilot? Even if it wasn’t the very first Bones episode that you’ve seen, as a Pilot, how does it stand up? Do you think by the end of the 12 seasons they addressed everything brought up in the Pilot properly?

**I’m still SQUEEING over David’s choice to give us that parallel walking away moment**

In preparation for our Pilot review on Tuesday, I found this lovely interview! How much the world, and our lives, have changed since the beginning to the end of Bones! 12 years is a long time!

Emily is interviewed for this piece and talks about how there was no Twitter when the show began and how she had a flip phone! (So did I, and I miss it! It was so satisfying to hang up on people!)

So where were you, September 13, 2005?

For me, I was a brand new, baby college graduate. My sister’s birthday is actually on Sept 13, so I was probably doing birthday type things. But I barely had a cell phone, and I had just joined this new thing called Facebook. You had to wait until they added your college, and it was initially just for college students.

Many things in my life haven’t changed much. I’ve had the same job for 10 years running, and I still live in the same general area. I do have an adorable niece and nephew now 🙂

Bones hooked me in during Santa in the Slush, and its been that way ever since. Though I dabbled in social media, Bones was really the catalyst that led me into reading blogs, message boards, and tweeting celebs. Now I’ve expanded my show obsession to DWTS, which also started in 2005. Thankfully it doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon! lol

What about you guys? How has your life personally changed during these dozen years? What generally in the world is different?